Iraqi forces hold over 1,300 foreign IS family members, most of them women and children, at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq. (AFP Photo)

BAGHDAD, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces are holding more than 1,300 foreign women and children, the families of Islamic State (IS) fighters, at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, Iraqi security source said on Sunday.

The 1,333 individuals, from 14 countries, surrendered to Kurdish forces at the end of August after an Iraqi offensive drove the extremist group from the northern town of Tal Afar, near Mosul, Iraqi security officials said.

The women and children will not be charged with crimes and will likely be repatriated to their home countries, the source added.

Most of the IS family members hail from Central Asia, Russia and Turkey, but the group also includes people from as far away as Japan and South Korea.

Tens of thousands of foreigners traveled to Iraq and Syria to live in the IS group's self-styled Islamic caliphate.

The women and children are now living in tents and receiving aid from humanitarian groups. They are among hundreds of thousands of Iraqis displaced by fighting over the past year.

Iraqi forces hold thousand foreign IS family members

Source: Xinhua
2017-09-10 18:18:54

Iraqi forces hold over 1,300 foreign IS family members, most of them women and children, at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq. (AFP Photo)

BAGHDAD, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces are holding more than 1,300 foreign women and children, the families of Islamic State (IS) fighters, at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, Iraqi security source said on Sunday.

The 1,333 individuals, from 14 countries, surrendered to Kurdish forces at the end of August after an Iraqi offensive drove the extremist group from the northern town of Tal Afar, near Mosul, Iraqi security officials said.

The women and children will not be charged with crimes and will likely be repatriated to their home countries, the source added.

Most of the IS family members hail from Central Asia, Russia and Turkey, but the group also includes people from as far away as Japan and South Korea.

Tens of thousands of foreigners traveled to Iraq and Syria to live in the IS group's self-styled Islamic caliphate.

The women and children are now living in tents and receiving aid from humanitarian groups. They are among hundreds of thousands of Iraqis displaced by fighting over the past year.